S.Korea to deploy U.S. missile defense system to southeastern region

South Korea's defense ministry on Wednesday announced an agreement with the United States to deploy the U.S. missile defense system, called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), to its southeastern region despite continued oppositions from neighboring countries.

One THAAD battery will be deployed to the Seongsan-ri region of the Seongju county in North Gyeongsang province, where South Korean Air Force's Hawk surface-to-air missile battery is located.

After Friday's decision between Seoul and Washington to deploy U.S. interceptors in the South Korean soil, the decision for the deployment site was announced earlier than expected amid mounting oppositions and controversies at home and abroad.

On Friday, Seoul said the site would be announced within weeks, but nationwide protests against the THAAD deployment had spread especially in candidate sites, prompting the country to announce it just five days after the deployment decision. The two allies aim to deploy the U.S. missile defense system in the site by the end of next year.